3.5mm Jack Socket Repair

Somehow I managed to I guess break a piece of copper connection inside the jack socket for my Samsung G2. So the sound is severely distorted and I have to play with the jack for it to sound normal. I use it to listen to the radio for 10 hours 5 days a week. So is there any way I can fix this on my own? Can I take it to any of those cell service (tmobile, verizon, etc) stores and they can fix it? How much would it cost and how long do you guys think they can fix it? It's a work phone and I doubt they will send it for repairs for a messed up working jack socket.

Oh, another thing that crossed my mind was getting wireless earphones. Which actually I have been thinking about getting for a while. I work outside and the cable is a constant annoyance. But I would rather get the jack socket fixed.

It's not too bad. Basically you remove the back cover, a few screws, and the back of the casing. After that the jack is part of a unit that has the vibration module, earpiece, and jack all in one. Pry up the vibration module, disconnect the flex cable connector, and remove the unit. Replace with new unit and reassemble. Some of the US variants are a little different but it should be about the same. Just make sure you get the right replacement unit.Edited by TDA - 2/23/13 at 9:09pm

That is sort of what I was thinking as well. Transplanting a unit from another device. But I assume it's not a one size fit's all. So where would I find replacement units for my particular model? And I assume this step would void any type of warranty too huh. I didn't see it mentioned on the phone case and I have lost my manual but that sound about right.

You don't need another device. There are tons of places that sell replacement units. I've picked up a few from places that specialize in it and a few off ebay. There are even people on Amazon that sell replacement parts. Just get the model number (e.g. ATT version is the i777) and search for it with that.

As far as warranty goes if you still have one they would probably swap the phone for you. ATT has done it for me with bad jacks if it was still under warranty.

Most smartphone jacks are four conductor. So there are four little rings in there that are separate connections. Basically you would have to somehow put your conductive material in only the one connection or you would get weird stuff happening. Those other connections are used for mics and signal processing (pause, play, mute, skip track, ect).